THE POWERFUL VS. THE POWERLESS
By killing TASC, unions and judges sadly destroy the will of the people
BY GEORGE HARRIS

George Harris is publisher of Liberty Watch: The Magazine. He is also a political activist and successful Southern Nevadan businessman. Reach Harris at gopgeorge@earthlink.net  Other stories by George Harris

There are days when all a person can ask is: "Who's really running the show here?" Ever since state Sen. Bob Beers announced intentions last year to put the clamps on state spending with his Tax and Spending Control initiative, unions, politicians and now judges have done all they can to silence the will of the people.

Who controls America? Ask any citizen and deep down they'll respond with what they've been conditioned to believe - the American people are in control. Elected representatives, union bosses and judges will even offer this whopper. After all, voting is what empowers us, right? 

Well, when that power appears to threaten the big boys, watch out. They will ruthlessly remove your ability to vote on issues that threaten their existence. After what happened on Sept. 8 in the Nevada Supreme Court, our world is crystal clear - we can vote for or against politicians, just not on any measures that limit their power. In situations like this, the powerful make the common man (and woman) powerless.

This month, the Nevada Supreme Court silenced the 156,254 Nevadans who made the TASC ballot initiative a reality by shutting it down and denying voters a chance in November to have their voices heard on state spending. Specifically, TASC would have limited government-spending growth to increases in population plus inflation. 

Beers, a man inside all the legislative mayhem, spearheaded the measure. His efforts created such an incredible media buzz around the initiative that it frightened government unions and others bullies in the public sector. How else can you explain the fact that only 83,184 valid signatures were needed to get the measure on the ballot and the TASC Committee turned in 156,254? 

"We are shocked that these big-government-union-front groups were able to muscle their way past the will of the people," said Bob Adney, executive director of the Nevada TASC Committee. "Nevadans want TASC - and it shouldn't be taken away from the ballot just because government unions and special interests will say and do anything to keep people from voting on this issue."

Damn right they'll say and do anything. 

The union-backed "Nevadans against - er - for Nevada" claimed TASC violated the single subject clause. The lawsuit was the last in a long series of baseless accusations. Nevadans for Nevada had used multiple avenues to block TASC, including trying to head off its signature gatherers, alleging signature fraud and challenging the initiative in court. I could say that I'm shocked that the Nevada Supreme Court fell for the government union's latest desperate attempt to keep TASC off the ballot. But I must remember what our Supreme Court represents.

Justice, by far, is not it.

I despise the term, but this bench is full of "activist judges." It is a body that dismantled the state constitution in 2003 to overlook the required two-thirds majority to raise and implement new taxes. Need I say more?

One thing these judges cannot do is prevent us from voting them out of office this fall. Cynthia "Diane" Steel needs your vote to oust Michael Douglas and Nancy M. Saitta needs your support to beat Nancy Becker. Both of these fine, Constitution-respecting candidates have earned my vote.

Enemies of the measure - like union boss Danny Thompson of the Nevada AFL-CIO - commended the court for striking TASC from the ballot. After the ruling, Thompson offered this nugget: "The court did the right thing." Should he have completed that deep thought, Nevadans would have heard: "The court did the right thing for us big-government guys who rely on our lawmakers' overspending to retain employment."

Unions claim to be for the people; our elected judges say they serve the people. Despite the court's horrible decision, Nevadans want TASC. Lately, I seriously question who's really in control. Beers said it right when talking to the Review-Journal after the high court's decision: "There [is] fact and law that could be used to support any decision. This was all about judgment, and I don't know how they possibly could have set aside their feelings and political biases. Ultimately, this was a political decision."

If we the people are in control, then why are we left powerless when challenging the powerful? LW